


Things will happen when they're meant to happen

by queenofchildren



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Meddling Friends, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-28 00:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2712518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenofchildren/pseuds/queenofchildren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke's first romance on earth has sparked up, burned out and crashed over a period of just a few weeks. So when love comes knocking once more, she takes her sweet time to answer. Her friends are not happy about that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things will happen when they're meant to happen

_There was an inevitability about the road towards each other which encouraged meandering along the route._

 

It's not the whole Finn-Raven-fiasco that puts Clarke off love. Clarke Griffin is not the type to lose herself over a boy, and she certainly isn't brought down by heartbreak. Sure, it hurt to find out the person she had just spent a rather amazing night with had a girlfriend (who is an awesome person, too). For a few hours, she might have naively thought that this was some sort of fairytale romance come true, that she'd get her happily ever after on earth. But it wasn't as if she could honestly speak of being in love – she'd only known Finn for a week at that point, for heaven's sake. Most of her hurt is bruised pride and the feeling of being betrayed by a person she thought she could trust when there weren't many of those around.

No, the thing that almost destroys her in the end, that makes her want to wash her hands clean of this terrible force people call love and seek out so desperately, is the expression on Finn's face when he stands in the midst of death and terror and murmurs 'I found you.' It is this that slays her, that makes her wonder if it is ever worth it to have another person love you when it makes them do unspeakable things.

It takes her a long time to make her peace with the experience. Even after Finn is banished, after they survive the war with the grounders and manage to finally strike peace after months of fighting, she keeps everyone at a distance, and few people manage to get through her defenses occasionally. She can't really confide in her mother the way she used to because Chancellor Griffin is a different person from Doctor Griffin, and because the ghost of her father still lingers between them. The only other people she had before, her father and Wells, are dead and can't help her and sometimes she feels incredibly lonely.

But gradually, she finds a new family with the people who made it through those first few weeks of hell with her: With Raven, she bonds over their shared betrayal and loss of Finn, and despite that strange beginning, their friendship thrives over discussions of camp security and communication and war strategies. Amost always with them during these meetings is Bellamy, who for a while is the only person whose touch she doesn't flinch away from and whose loyalty she never doubts. Even Octavia, who once resented her for embodying the system that deemed her existence a crime, comes to respect her over time, warrior to warrior. Monty, too, is an unwavering source of support, the only one, she finds out, who believed her when she distrusted the people of Mount Weather, who never gave up wanting to look for her.

Those are the people who put her back together after Finn's crimes, carried out in her name, make her nearly fall apart. And as her heart heals and people show her that caring for someone doesn't need to be destructive, she slowly starts to wonder if maybe it would be worth it to try this love thing once more.

For a moment, the thought is alluring, until she realises she's not thinking about it in the abstract – love, to her, has come to mean brown eyes, freckles, a lopsided grin and a dynamic that is equal parts loud arguments and soft reassuring words. The moment she comes to this realisation, she starts finding reasons why it can't work: They're too busy, the camp needs them to keep up a stable dynamic, everyone would suffer if it went wrong. So Clarke shuts the thought down before it can take roots, or so she thinks.

***

Clarke has always had a tendency to try and control everything, to will things into being the way she thinks they should be, but she's learning now that just because something shouldn't happen, it still can. Because no matter how much she tries to ignore it, there's a pull between her and her co-leader that is getting stronger with every hour spent poring over maps and plans, every wordless conversation, every comforting touch, and people are starting to notice.

There are sly remarks, winks and nudges and not-so-subtle probing questions. Clarke's approach is usually to breeze past whatever tongue-in-cheek remark has been levelled at her and pretend she didn't hear or understand before rushing off to tend to some emergency or other. Bellamy takes the more aggressive approach of staring people down with a look that promises pain and death, which works most of the time too.

Raven is the first to bring it up straight out. Clarke has just snapped at her for reporting that the walkie-talkies tend to short out when they get wet, and the moment she closes her mouth she expects Raven to fire right back, or maybe to attack her with a wrench. Instead, her friend suggests that Clarke get some sleep, preferably with a nice helping of sex beforehand. She even suggests the perfect candidate, and Clarke can feel her cheeks heating up as she wonders if Raven has read her mind.

Because of course she's thought about it. She's trying very hard to ignore the urges of her body, but those urges seem to get triggered more and more lately, and it always involves him. That's not terribly surprising – she spends more time with him than any other male member of their group, and he is, objectively speaking, an attractive man. It doesn't help that he's awfully fond of touching her in a way that seems unplanned, subconsciously part of his character, but that nonetheless is different from the way he interacts with the other women at the camp – letting his glances and touches linger on her just a few heartbeats longer than necessary, standing just a bit closer to her than a friendly respect for personal space would dictate. At first she suspected that he's doing it on purpose just to throw her off, but eventually she realised that he isn't: his body just seems to react to hers in that way, and the thought is unbelievably intriguing.

Or, as Raven puts it when she expands on her suggestion: "The sexual tension between you two is getting so thick you could cut it with a knife. It's starting to make everyone else horny.“

Clarke just blinks, struck dumb, before shoving the walkie-talkies back into her hand and backing out of the mechanic's workshop.

Looking after her friend, Raven wonders for a moment if she's going to take up her suggestion that very evening, but from Clarke's still-tense stance the next morning and the unchanged longing in Bellamy's eyes when he looks at her friend, Raven guesses she didn't.

***

Octavia brings it up next, in her patented mixture of sweet and fierce, or what counts for sweet from the half-grounder warrior girl these days. Octavia plops down next to her by the fire when Clarke is on night shift at Medical and Octavia, from the sweat on her forehead, her exuberant flush and the fresh bruise forming on her cheek, has just returned from a sparring session with Lincoln.

Always blunt and to the point, Octavia doesn't waste any time on smalltalk. It seems as if she's been waiting for an opportunity to talk to Clarke in private, judging by the way she chooses to open the conversation.

“You know my brother's in love with you, right?”

Clarke is ready to protest, to laugh it off as the ridiculous notion that it is, but in a way, she does know – she can feel it in the reassuring heaviness of his gaze on her, in the way he constantly finds excuses to touch her, brushing leaves out of her hair or dirt off her face, in the way his voice is much softer when they're alone and he asks how she's doing. It is this that scares her most of all, how much he changes around her. She doesn't mind the changes, in fact she loves how her skin tingles wherever he touches it or how his voice seems to rumble through her when it's all low and soft, but it scares her that she has the power to change anyone this much, and she can't help but remember the last boy she changed.

Octavia must have seen her scared expression, because she laughs to lighten the tension.

“Relax, I'm not saying you have to marry him right now or something. I just thought you should know that I know, and I'm watching you. So whatever you do, you better not hurt him.”

Clarke can't help but grin, because this is just adorable. Octavia's suddenly serious expression makes the grin slide off her face.

“I mean it Clarke. I _will_ hurt you. You're badass and all, but we both know I'm the better fighter.”

Clarke can't help but think that Octavia is _creepy_ sometimes, but the other girl is already starting to get up. Before she leaves, she turns once more towards her and winks.

“I don't really expect to have to fight you, though. If anyone can handle Bell, it's you.”

It's almost a blessing, the highest honour Octavia could bestow on anyone. It's reassuring, and it will be one less problem to deal with when things unfold. (Clarke expects there to be problems, naturally.)

***

Eventually, even her mother says something, although in a much more subtle way than her friends: She gives her a heartfelt speech about life being short, especially now that they're surrounded by all the dangers of earth, and about knowing a good thing when you see it and seizing every chance you get at happiness. (Thankfully, Abby refrains from mentioning Clarke's father although his memory hangs in the air between them as always.) It's a very inspiring speech, and Clarke agrees with all of the points her mother makes. But even the mention of all the threats to their lives doesn't make her want to seize anything, not right now. Because deep down, she knows there's no rush, no need to go eagerly grabbing at happiness.

In fact, doing so now might do more harm than good. Because they're both still broken, wounded people, and they already bring up so much energy to heal and strengthen the other even as friends. When they take things to the next level, she wants them to be whole for it. She wants their first kiss, their first night together to be about them, not about the pain and death they have to push aside every day. She knows it will be worth the wait, and she knows he will wait it out with her. She can see it every time she looks to him after a crisis has passed and he nods, ready for the next one. They're not there yet. They still have to take care of people and solve problems, and when they're done with that, they'll take care of themselves.

Things will happen when they're meant to happen.

***

Things will happen when they're meant to happen – that's what Clarke tells everyone who urges her to please just get a move on and do _something_. Clarke finds it an excellent philosophy. There are so many things down here storming at them every day, hitting them when they least expect it, that she wants to have control over just this one thing. She's been swept off her feet before, and it ended in disaster. This particular adventure is one she will embark upon when she's good and ready, on her own terms and in her own time. Besides, waiting is the sensible thing to do – she's way too busy for romance right now, and Clarke has always praised herself on her restraint. Clearly, waiting is best for everyone involved.

Unfortunately, no one agrees. For one thing, the agreed-upon theory between Octavia, Raven and Abby is that for all her zen attitude and talk of the inevitabilty of things that are meant to happen, it's glaringly obvious that Clarke Griffin, possibly for the first time ever, is just scared.

Besides, while Clarke is smiling serenely in the knowledge that love will wait for her, Bellamy must not have got the memo. He goes from sneaking longing glances at her when he thinks she isn't looking to outright staring at her to the point where anyone who isn't her has to practically shout at him to be noticed, and eventually people don't know whether to be irritated or pity him. He gets more bad-tempered with every day that passes with them talking and laughing and sharing long glances and innocently touching only to return to their separate quarters at night.

And so, to spare Bellamy the pain of spontaneous combustion and to finally get Clarke laid (and hopefully, a little more relaxed), a war council is called into action. Initially, that includes just Raven and Octavia, but since they don't really work very well together, they call in Jasper, Monty and Miller for help.

Their initial plan, heavily championed by Jasper and Raven, involves timed explosives, fake wounds and a row of sentinels who stay in contact with walkie-talkies.

“Or we could just lock them into Raven's workshop.”

Monty nods enthusiastically at the simplicity of Miller's plan, but Raven is unsettled by the ida of such an intrusion into her sanctuary. “Why my workshop?”

“Because it's the only place we can get empty and lock up without any interference.”

“And don't you always say it's a place where magic happens? At this point, we could use a little magic.”

With both Octavia and Monty now endorsing it, the choice falls on Miller's plan, much to Raven and Jasper's disappointment.

The details are worked out quickly after that: Monty sends Bellamy to get some part from Raven's workshop for him, which he does begrudgingly, and Raven lures Clarke in there with a fake emergency. The moment they are both inside, Octavia slams the door shut, Monty and Miller jump in to barr it with the prepared long pieces of scrap metal, and Raven shouts their conditions over the protesting voices coming from the inside.

"We're not letting you out until you've talked about your situation... and done whatever else is necessary.“

Octavia turns slightly green at that because it's a little bit too suggestive considering that's her brother cursing them from the other side of that door. But really, it's for the best.

***

Of course, the first thing they do about their unfortunate situation is fight. Both are convinced the other brought this on by saying something that caused their friends to take such misguided action. It is only when they get around to trying to unpack just why their friends think they should jump each other's bones that things quiet down a little bit. They're both reluctant to show their hand when it comes to their emotions, but they've both come to care about the other too much to outright lie and risk hurting them.

It is him who cracks first, after Clarke has assured him for the third time that the others must have misunderstood something.

“What if they're right? What if I did...” He can't bring himself to say it, not before he knows what she thinks. He's _that_ much of a coward, Bellamy internally berates himself.

So they end up just jumping the part where they declare their feelings, and going straight to the reasons why it would be a bad idea. And Clarke's list is long, so long that he's almost offended – almost. Because the longer she goes on about group dynamics and reliability and focusing on the important things, the more he realises she has thought about it too. A _lot_. And none of her reasons, he notices, have anything to do with her own feelings.

He uses her distraction to move closer until she is backed against Raven's cluttered table – his mind momentarily distracted by the possibility of uncluttering that table and throwing her on it – so she has nowhere left to go and clambers on the edge of the table by herself, probably because she wants to keep the upper hand and force him to look up at her. Still the gesture rings empty, because when he steps closer once more, she lets him step in between her legs and leans towards him instead of back. He can't help but smirk, because this is how he'll win – she might be better at arguing and rationalising, but damn if he isn't better at allowing himself to feel things. He waits until she pauses to take a breath before starting his reasoning.

“So you're saying, if it wouldn't affect the group, if we found a way to make sure we wouldn't get distracted and it wouldn't end badly,” he lifts a hand to brush a strand of her hair behind her ear, noticing her sharp intake of breath when his knuckles brush over her cheek, “you wouldn't mind _this_ ,” he presses a soft kiss to her cheek, “or _this_ ” another kiss, this one to her jaw “or _this_...” his lips find her neck, sucking softly on her pulse point, and her hands clamp down on his shoulders.

When he breaks the contact and looks at her, her eyes are closed, her head tilted back to allow him better access, and there's a flush creeping up her neck. He allows himself to drink in the sight, ignoring the impatience flashing in her eyes when she opens them again. He has waited for this for so long, it's only fair she gets to be frustrated too. His resolve only last until she pulls at his shoulders, trying to get him closer again, and he obliges, leaning in to let his lips ghost over hers in the lightest of touches, waiting for her to take it up, to show him she wants this as much as he does. He may have pushed her a little, but in the end, it needs to be her decision. So he forces himself to wait even as he can feel her legs close around his hips and flex, telling him that victory within his grasp...

There's an almighty bang behind them, followed by a loud, counter-productive “Shush, careful!”, and a scraping at the door. It takes them a moment to shake off their daze and understand that they're being freed, then he stupidly takes a step back and Clarke jumps to her feet, ready to escape. But he's by the door quicker, pushing the latch closed on the inside before he turns back around. She raises her eyebrows questioningly.

„We are going to finish this, but not by their rules. I don't want to tell our future children that it was a bunch of juvenile delinquents who brought us together.“

„Our future children?“ Her voice is squeaky. „ _Plural_?“

He nods and takes a step towards her. She's not backing away this time – the prospect can't scare her that much, he decides.

„I'm in this for the long haul. And it's not like the one-child-rule still applies.“

He takes another step closer and notices with relief that she does the same. Taking a deep breath, she stands a little straighter, a visible sign that she has overcome whatever fears she still had.

„As long as you don't expect me to start pushing out those children anytime soon.“

„Nah, I'm good for now.“

They're both silent for a few moments, trying to get their thoughts sorted. Clarke doesn't know exactly what made her agreee to have multiple children with him, and she wonders if that means they skipped the part where she has yet to agree to have anything with him other than what they already have. (Which is good, and solid, and not as scary as the thing she actually wants.)

“So, where were we? Right, I think we've just established you don't find me physically repulsive, and we know for sure now that all our friends also want us to be together, which means the camp might not fall apart if we allowed ourselves to be selfish for once. The only thing we haven't covered is why you still don't think this is a good idea, because to be honest, I do.”

It is at this point that Clarke has a choice: She can admit that the reason, the only reason, she is still resisting what is starting to look – and feel, God the feeling! – more and more like a really, really good idea is fear. And fear is not something Clarke Griffin admits to. So she takes her only other option: while he looks at her expectantly, waiting for her decision, she takes the last step that still separated them, pulls him close by the lapels of his jacket, and kisses him.

It's safe to say that, on this day, magic definitely happens in Raven's workshop.

  


 

**Author's Note:**

> The quote is from Zadie Smith.


End file.
